Underworld's Winter March
Convergence "Sir!" called Julius, "I found it!" Pluto along with the other members of Underworld ran over to him. There laid the decomposing body of the God Slayer, Zancrow. "Excellent work Julius," said Pluto, "You've always acquired the best bodies for me. Helena, it's your turn." She walked up to the body, and placed her hands on the corpses chest. As she began to force her magical energy into it, the body began to regain it's skin. The plants that had grown on it disappeared. Soon he was as good as new, with the exception of that he was still dead. "And the other one?" Pluto asked. "We haven't found Hades yet," said Krius. "Although we haven't been here very long, and the island is very large." "We should check the location at which Grimoire Heart landed first," said Pluto. "Perhaps we'll find his carcass there." Lurking within a shrub of leaves and flowers of varying degree, Silvius Alvar awaited the proper moment to strike. Attributed to his skill set as an assassin, he had rid himself of his presence entirely, hindering all traces of his signature, both in regards to his magical power, bodily perfumes, and the like. Channeling the dialogue uttered by the members of the Underworld guild back to him through the use of the sound waves being echoed through the air, he had placed himself in a position in which their schemes had become strikingly clear to him. Still yet, even upon being afforded the advantage did he not cease in keeping his senses on high alert, searching for any flaring intricacies. "Wait," said Verve. He turned around, and held up a glowing hand. His eyes closed, he scanned the forest. "I feel like I sense a life force." "Of course you do," said Julius, "This place is full of animals. Remember how many beasts we killed after we got here?" "I know. But this one feels different, faint yet, stronger, colder, it feels like they're trying to hide. If it wasn't thanks to my advanced Qui I wouldn't have been able to sense him." Pluto stopped moving. "Verve, point Julius in the right direction. Then cut down the entire forest." "Yes sir!" they said. Verve once again scanned the area. "There." "Kishin Soul!" exclaimed Julius as he transformed into his Take Over form. He clapped his hands together, and sliced them sideways, creating an enormous shockwave that cut every tree down in a 200 meter radius in front of him. --- Tenrou Island, once considered the holy ground of the infamous Fairy Tail guild, but what was it truly? Indra had come across it by chance, when rediscovering the world, and happened to unearth some intriguing information. The island was home to ruins, and architecture well before the founding of the guild that called it home. So with more than just a passing interest he ventured into the forests of Earthland and emerged on Tenrou. As he emerged he beheld a massive tree, truly gargantuan in its size. His breath caught short as he felt its majesty, the sheer volume of prana running through the island. He could hear the faint thrum of its current beneath his feet, feel the whisper of an embrace in the air. Sadly his moment of wonder was broken by the titanic quake that shook him from his reverence. A pulse of prana followed by a shockwave decimated an entire section of the forest. He felt the tell-tale life signatures of other... mages in the vicinity. Carefully he kept his presence hidden, hiding between thought and the subconscious, as he stalked onward, his form shimmering before reappearing on the other side of the island near the mountainous side. From there he swiftly made his way upward until he came across a cliff facing the clearing where the other party gathered. It was then he sensed something, a prickling at his senses. There's... another here... but its faint... difficult to detect, like trying to hear a whisper between . This sensation... it is... familiar somehow. He thought warily. I'll observe them for now, see if this other presence makes an appearance. ''---'' Trees were uprooted, torn apart from their homes in what could only be described as a chain of disaster. As the smoke cleared, only tattered debris lay within the wake of the blast. Not a single corpse was to be found, much to the dismay of the Dark Mages who would have more than likely sought to reanimate it. Confusion was but one of the many emotions plaguing their minds; they had been so sure, so confident that there had been someone in that direction hidden amongst the plant life. So where could it have gone? Shhhhhhh. A sudden breeze eloped, flaring the many pieces of chipped wood every which way. Turning quickly to a twister, it consumed the group of dark mages within its immediate vicinity, sealing off every measure of escape through the means of its spherical structure, as if daring one to challenge the razor sharp winds that contributed to its existence. The presence they had felt earlier had grown all the more potent, waging war and confirming its existence, even there in the midst of the disaster. "A wind barrier?" said Julius, "Please, I can pierce through anything!" In an instant, Julius' body had transformed into a beam of blue energy, sharp and strong enough to pierce through anything, including Aether Cade's barriers. Nothing could resist his attacks. After he had escaped he began searching for the one responsible for the Wind Barrier. "If only he had been a little more patient," said Pluto. "Cane, you know what to do." "Yes sir," he said, with a devilish smile one his face. Almost like a Slayer, Cane inhaled deeply, feasting on all of the wind that made up the barrier. It wasn't instantaneous, but not long after, Cane had devoured it. "Magic wind is nice and all, but I like meat better." "He's that way," said Verve, pointing in the direction of their assailant, "It's unmistakeable now." Upon seeing the freedom of his comrades, Julius landed next to them. "That wind barrier was impressive," said Pluto, "not many could entrap us that easily, even for a moment. I hope to add him to my collection. Show yourself! And I promise you'll be given a painless death!" Yet, there was still no sign of the intruder. What in the world was going on? Surely Verve had not miscalculated? There was no doubt that an incredulous magical aura was surging like a wildfire all throughout the area. But then just whom did it belong to? Cane found himself to be at great odds with the magical substance he had stuffed down his throat earlier; the magical enzymes comprising that segment, normally responsible for converting the mass of wind into a helpful of magical energy for Cane to use in his own stead, had essentially grown illiterate in their operations, unable, for whatever reason, to digest the entirety of the meal. A beam of light struck through Cane's stomach within the very next time interval, followed by many others, until each and every pore of his individual being emanated in a similar fashion. He would have tried, based solely upon natural instinct alone, to regurgitate the foreign substance that had invaded his soul, though it was far too late. There was no fending off against an internal attack such as this. Before the others had a chance to so much as discover the oddity of Cane's unfortunate circumstance —much less take any precautions of their own— they saw his frame eroded further by the aura, before his body perished with a blinding flash. In its wake stood a pale skinned man, bearing shredded azure hair that stuck to his scalp like a pit of glaciers. His hands in his pockets, there was little doubt that he was the one behind all of the mayhem. "Seeing as though there's nothing left of him, I suppose that's one entity you won't be able to resurrect." He brought a hand to scratch at the stubble of his chinny chin chin. "Oh how rude of me. Please, do allow me to introduce myself. I am certain you recall that gust of wind from before?" His mustard gaze eyed Pluto. "That would have been… me." Cane's eagerness had led to his own demise. While his magic allowed him to consume the magical properties of virtually any spell, it wasn't very well suited for the likes of consuming a living being; certainly not whatever this creature standing before the members of the Underworld guild was. By the look of things, this man had taken the form of the wind from earlier and made his way inside Cane; from there, he had regained his form whilst still inside, vaporizing his opponent from within. The Underworld immediately turned their attention towards their assailant each preparing to attack him, but Pluto waved them off. "Hold on, he just killed Cane. I don't think we want to rush into things too quickly. It takes guts to come after us. Underworld is one of the strongest Dark Guilds out there. You must be that one that's been going after affiliates in the Bellona Alliance. I heard what you did to Muspelheim. Where's Nether by the way? Not to mention, Cane was technically on rent. You just pissed off Gladiator Beast as well. The number of enemies you have must be insurmountable, Silvius Alvar. But, I don't think you're going to live long enough to make any more." All the Underworld members placed their hands on Pluto, there was a quick surge of magical energy, then they all stepped back. "Continue the search for Hades, and report back with the body. I'll take care of our little guest." "But lord Pluto," said Julius, "are you sure you wouldn't want any assistance in dealing with this man. I mean, he destroyed Muspelheim. He even beat Surtr in one hit." "You forget Julius. I am not Surtr. I am far more than that. Now get going before he tries to stop you. It's easier to fight when I don't have to worry about you getting killed." At these words, Julius, and the others left, moving at high speeds towards where the Grimoire Heart airship landed all those years ago. "Now, where were we? Oh yes." Pluto opened his eyes, they were now the colors of the Lunar Eclipse Eyes, eyes that caused immense fear in anyone that looked into them, and he was staring directly into Silvius'. "Most men can't handle this amount of magic power. Fortunately, I am not most men. Lunar Eclipse Beam!" He fired a large beam of orange energy from his eyes, aimed directly at Silvius. Silvius calmly stood his ground, moving one hand from his pockets to intercept the beams emanated from Pluto's eyes before they could hit their mark. With nothing but refined force, he crushed the spell between his hand, evoking a small cloud of smoke that dissipated quickly around his feet. "Why bother asking a question if you're just going to interrupt me from responding?" Silvius' gaze remained poised, virtually unaffected by the fear factor that Pluto had attempted to instill within him. After all, for a man who had fondled the goddesses residing above the clouds, trifled with the mishap of specimens who beckoned themselves as demons, and soared alongside the dragons themselves in equal ascent, what was there to even fear? He took a minute to ponder over the many questions Pluto had asked him. "What, are we playing 100 questions? Sheesh…" he clutched his own palm repeatedly, as if flexing his fingers back into proper condition from having dealt with the earlier blast. "I'm flattered that you know who I am. Still, I'm not obligated to tell you anything; you are the enemy, after all. "If that really was the best you could offer, then perhaps it was a mistake for you to play hero and allow your comrades to escape with their lives. I'll tell you only this once that I'm in not in my greatest state of mind today, so if you don't drop this act now, then I won't be reconsidering the amends of your death." He sniffed the air, catching traces of a strikingly familiar scent among the fleeing members of Underworld. So familiar, that had he not known any better, he would have filed for identity theft. "The choice is yours," Silvius said, returning his utmost attention back toward his opponent, "I'd really prefer not to have to dirty my hands with your blood." "In all my life, I don't think I've ever met anyone as arrogant as you. Individually, my mages were the strongest of any. Now, you face all of them at once. If you truly think that you can beat me, let's see if you can even touch me. You will make a fine specimen to add to my collection." The body of Zancrow, got onto it's feet, and touched Pluto as well before retreating alongside the other Underworld members. "Excellent." Pluto placed his hands in a circular fashion, and began collecting black flames between them. "When you burn the West, and you burn down the east. Flame God's Kagutsuchi!" He threw the ball of flames at Silvius, with it expanding as it got closer to it's mark, and generated a giant explosion. And, yet another cloud of smoke sounded as a result of yet another explosion. Tenrou trembled, debris faltered, smoke dispersed. Silvius stood in place, his arm cast over his body in a protective manner, giving off a small trinket of magical energy. "You just don't get it, do you? Against me, that tactic will never work. Really, it's no different from the attack you managed earlier; yes, while the execution may have been somewhat different, the means in which it was delivered leaves it much to easy to fend against." He fanned his arm sideways, clearing more of the smoke. "It's almost as if you aren't even thinking, only generating power and flinging it in my general direction. I will admit, it's fairly impressive that your magic has allowed you to copy the magic of even a Slayer, but ultimately, what good will it do you if you haven't the slightest idea of how to use it?" He patted his shoulder, dusting it off. "Final warning. Call me what you will, but I promise you, I will make quicker work of you than I did your friend." "I'd like to see you try." The earth around Silvius moved, surrounding him in a cocoon. As it moved, it hardened, and more earth continued to pile on. And soon, the cocoon began to decrease in size. Rapidly shrinking in an attempt to crush Silvius, Underworld Explorer Indra showed no surprise when the elusive mage quite literally erupted from one of the Dark Mages, scattering chunks of flesh and bone everywhere. He was however surprised to learn of his identity-- Silvius Alvar, a Dragon Slayer of some renown. Satisfied he was preparing to leave when his ears picked up the chatter among the Dark Mages. Retreating to the downed airship of the former Grimoire Heart, while their master battled the Slayer? Admirable, but mistaken. The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf. Together they might have stood a chance, with good teamwork they could have turned a battle into a slaughter. But separated as they are, and no doubt weakened due to having their magic drained to empower their master, had all but made them easy prey. No matter. He would greet them as he would any enemy. With that he turned to the cliff-face his form fading as his armor worked its mystery, shifting him towards the nearest location of the airship. When he arrived, he was just a ways out, and with a burst of preternatural speed he crossed the distance in moments. Quickly but with practiced ease, Indra traced along the interior of the ship a smattering of runes. Once he was finished he silently left the ship, before rounding back to ambush the incoming party heading to the ship. He felt rather than saw the group speeding towards the crashed ship, and decided to announce his presence in the only fashion they would understand, through eldritch fire and destruction. As Julius and company raced forward, Indra felt the prana sing within his body in harmony with his intent. His smile turning positively feral, prana began flooding out of his body as one massive eldritch sphere formed in the canopy above them. From there one became two and two became four and so on and so forth, until the sky above them was filled to the brim with miniaturized blazing orbs, curving downward until they formed a barrier like curtain of death. Each orb was a volatile construct, that would detonate with explosive force should they make impact. With another surge of effort he then commanded the complex the next phase of its attack. Each orb began firing in rapid succession their own beams of magical energy within the occupants trapping them in a visceral death trap as eldritch blasts rained down all around them. Verve stopped as they arrived at the airship. "There's another one here!" he called. They looked up, noticing the new spell. If it wasn't thanks to Verve, they possibly would've all perished, but the slight amount of preparation was all they needed. "New Moon!" called Asclepius. As the beams headed towards them, all the light in the area was absorbed into his eyes. It was pitch black, and the only thing visible was Asclepius' fear inducing eyes. Using Verve as a guide, he unleashed a large beam of energy from his eyes towards Indra, larger than any Dragon's Roar that has ever been seen, and also aimed to simultaneously counter Indra's blasts. In the event that this failed to completely counter it, Asclepius had also created a metal wall in order to block any runoff. Before Indra's gaze the light of the world dimmed. Color's lost all hue, becoming a dull grey or black. The warmth of the sun evaporated until the familiar touch of cold lapped at his skin. In the next moment even the washed out colorless visage of the forest vanished altogether as light and indeed the illumination of the heavens was snuffed out, pooling into the twin vortex pools of Asclepius's orbs. Then there was darkness, cold and unending, the tendrils of fear of the void clawed at his him, riding up his spine and tearing its way deep into his mind. Yet within those abysmal depths layeth a slumbering beast, and it had just been disturbed. A guttural howl blasted into his ears and it took him a moment to realize that it was him roaring with fury as the foul magic defiled nature itself, and the dragon within him, matched his murderous wrath casting the fear away, his prana pumping glorious power as he focused on his defense. Even blinded as he was, Indra was accustomed to the dark, his ears easily picking up the heartbeats of his prey, their forms huddled beneath a wall of steel that they so naively thought to protect them. He felt the heat upon his skin as the one who used such tainted magic roared in response, unleashing a wave of destruction that just punched through the eldritch beams of his attack. Still had the mage not sacrificed his magic to suffuse and empower his guild leader, such an attack might have been a threat. As it was, Indra redirected all attacking orbs to redirect their fire crossing their streams of eldritch energy to form a veritable wall of intersecting beams, not unlike a net. The massive beam emanating from Asclepius's eyes slammed into his own, and though he could not bear witness to the spectacle he felt the struggle between the two powers. Concentrating once more he conjured more orbs, each bursting with beams of condensed prana, as they lanced through Asclepius's attack weakening it. The ground shuddered beneath the guild members, as crashing winds ripped through the land. Yet Asclepius's attack faltered, the wave sputtering and wavering in its intensity for its wielder had sacrificed his magic earlier. Slowly but surely the wave of unspeakable destruction collapsed detonating sending dust and debris everywhere, and with that conclusion Indra ceased his fire, and his attack pattern dissipated into the air, their power used up. Indra landed from his perch in the sky at their flank, with but a light tremor. As light soon returned to the world, the group could see their attacker. He was young, impossibly so, wreathed in coat of snow white. White haired that defied gravity hung loosely over his head, and turquoise eyes peered at them dispassionately. In one hand he held a long saber, a blade of exquisite beauty and craftsmanship, and even they could feel the power held within the instrument. "Run." His voice was young but commanding, almost primal in its tone with something... else. It was a voice that did not belong to a child, let alone a human. "Or stay and die. I don't care which. But if you wish to leave here alive, then strip yourselves of all clothing and weapons." He pauses for a moment to deliberate. "You can keep half of your underwear." Julius gritted his teeth so hard that he chipped a tooth. "You bastard! You think you can take on the entirety of Underworld! We are the strongest of all guilds, legal or dark. And I won't take any shit from an overconfident tool like you! Kishin Soul!" Julius' body changed into the more feline transformation. "If there's one thing that Underworld doesn't tolerate, it's arrogance." The whole time Julius had been speaking, Helena had been silently casting Nemesis, creating the hands of a demon below Indra. The demon aimed to grab him by the legs with inhuman strength, pinning him to the spot. A third eye opened on Julius' forehead. Or more so, second eye. "Hastam Omnipotens!" In the blink of an eye, Julius was a spear, heading directly towards Indra with the intent to pierce through him chest. At the same time, the other members sprung into action. Using his Power Arms, Verve had thrown Krius high into the air above Indra, who had used his magic to harden his leg. If he went up, Krius would bring his hardened leg down upon his head with his Guillotine. Ascelpius, and Verve ran to the other sides of him, Ascelpius preparing another Lunar Eclipse Beam, while Verve charged up a blast of his Qui between his Power Arms. The two perfectly lined up their attacks. If he went to the right or the left, the two would have no problem striking him. But if he went up, or dodged, the two attacks would collide, generating a large powerful explosion capable of launching him in any direction. Although stationary, Helena had also commenced a larger variation of Nemesis, summoning the 20 demons from behind Indra. If he went backwards, the demons would grab him, allowing for Julius to attempt another attack almost uninterrupted, or for the explosion of Aslcepius and Verve's spell to strike him. Julius' speed was more than enough to avoid the explosion if he had to. The only question now was "What direction will he go? Or will he even have time to dodge?" Nightmarish claws breached the earth from beneath Indra, with skin as black as night dripping with power most foul, they quickly encircled his legs. Indra snapped his leg in a vicious kick that ripped one of the demon hands clean off the arm. It spasmed dramatically mid-air before imploding in a shower of blood and gore. The other hand snaked around his leg pinning it. Eyes narrowing Indra attempted to rip his leg free but found the demon hands hold to be true. Before he could act further, Julius, wreathed in eldritch fire swirling with arcane might as his spear form closed the distance between them instantly. The Underworld guild member plowed forward but crashed into an ephemeral barrier slowing his momentum. It was just enough, as Indra was able to sheath his hands in arcane energy and weaving a single rune before bracing himself for the collision. Julius slammed into Indra with titanic force, causing the ground beneath them to flatten from the pressure. His first barrier fell away instantly but the second held for that single moment he needed, just long enough for Indra to grasp Julius in his spear form. The moment his hands took hold the glyph of Kaunan was etched onto his form weakening his resistances. Pivoting his other leg he used what was left of Julius's momentum to twist, wrenching himself free from the demonic hand grabbing hand. Using the Underworld guild member like a cudgel he swung low batting the hand away, and completing his rotation he knocked the outstretched leg of Krius who had come hurtling downward. The impact of the two forces colliding caused a veritable shockwave to emanate outward as the raven haired spearman's attack was deflected to the side. Once more his world was plunged into darkness as Asclepius roared as a void of inky darkness burst from his eyes while at the same time Verve unleashed a rolling sphere of ki. The two beams spiraled together forming a massive tsunami of destruction, pulverizing everything in their path heading directly towards Indra. Releasing his hold on the spear Indra flung Julius still in his eldritch spear form at the incoming wave to intercept it. Palming the ground Indra released a concentrated burst of prana, detonating the ground beneath him to give him enough of a boost to leap back into the waiting armada of demons summoned by Helena. Raising a palm, bursts of eldritch fire belched forward in a continuous stream consuming the horde in a plume of destruction, their forms incinerated by the condensed magic. Sliding through the haze of smoke and debris, Indra pulsed with prana as six orbiting balls of eldritch power flared to life. Hurling them upward they were launched towards Asclepius and Verve surrounding them, which then promptly detonated sending shockwaves and debris outward. Following up his attack, Indra punched the ground at his feet upturning the earth causing a slab of stone a story in height to flip upward. Weaving the runes of Uruz to augment its strength and durability, the Raidho rune to dramatically multiply its air velocity, and finally the Berkanan rune which caused the stone to "gather" more earth around it as it closed the distance to Krius. By the time it had reached him what was once a giant slab was now a tsunami of stone, grinding through earth, ripping apart the ground threatening to swallow him whole. Still blanketed in darkness due in no small part to Asclepisus's attack he capitalized on the momentary blindness to ambush the demon summoning mage Helena. Invisible to her eyes due to the lack of light and having erased all traces of sound and scent from her senses he flickered at her rear, his sword raised high before bringing it downward in a silent killing stroke meant to bifurcate her from shoulder to waist. All this occurring in the span of less than a handful of seconds, such was his speed. Before Julius could even make contact with Verve or Asclepius' attacks, Julius made a 90 degree turn upwards, completely avoiding the attack as it detonated in a huge explosion. As the eldritch orbs flew towards Asclepius and Verve, Asclepius erected two walls in front of each of them, protecting themselves from the detonation. Upon noticing Indra's attack on Helena, Asclepius called out "Duck!" As Indra aimed to attack from behind, Asclepius had managed to wrap his Eclipse Ribbons around Indra. But, due to the speed at which he required to do so, he only managed to slow down the attack enough for Helena to avoid being struck if she reacted. Fortunately, due to the months of training the group had gone through, Helena's reflexes were up to the task, as she ducked just in time to avoid the next attack, and somersault forward away from Indra, the whole time she had begun creating more demons, aiming for them to use their enhanced strength to grab hold of Indra once again. Knowing that this plan might not succeed, Julius used his immense speed in spear form to move next to Helena, and grab her, quickly moving away from Indra out of spear form in order to avoid her being injured by the incredible speed. As the attack went towards Krius, his entire body hardened, turning completely black and shiny, along with his spear. His density was so great that when it collided, it merely shattered upon contact with his body. Fortunately, the others had gotten clear of him in the time it took for the spell to land. "Ok, enough of this bullshit!" Shouted Krius as he activated his Satyr Soul. "It's go time!" Krius' speed was greatly enhanced now. He sprinted towards Indra with enough speed that he appeared as a blur, leaving behind after images. However, Krius was merely the distraction for Verve's attack. As Indra was in contact with the grass, Verve sent his magical energy through the grass and surge his magical energy through it, which would damage Indra internally. Krius was more prepared to jump over an attack made by Indra, and then slam him back into the ground should he attempt to jump himself. All the while, Asclepius continued to wrap his Eclipse Ribbons around Indra, attempting to restrict his movement even further. --- At last, his opponent had put some forethought into his magic. If Silvius was going to remain in a single position, then it was a clever tactic to take advantage of it. In his arrogance, the King of Dragons stood his ground, watching with mustard eyes as the earth was molded into a hardened sphere all around him. He hardly expected anymore from Pluto —especially not after his previous display of extraneous fireworks— however yet, much to his surprise, the sphere had begun to compress, flailing dirt against his flesh. Perhaps this Pluto wasn't like the others he had come across on his quest to locating othrys; perhaps he wasn't he lunatic he had thought him to be. His hands pressed against two sides of the compressing cocoon, from Silvius' fingertips emanated a freezing blue aura, converting the earth into ice. Before long, the whole structure of brown and black was interloped with the white and blue of frost, until it all shattered into a triumphant flurry of tiny iced flakes, revealing Silvius' frame to the open world once more, a tightened fist held out in front of his body. Still, it would seem, he had some critique for his opponent. "Surely you saw it just now, did you not? The difference of power between each of your spells? Based on that alone, I can only assume the earlier two did not belong to you; unlike the latter, they conveyed inexperience, even ignorance. Strength, under any circumstance, cannot be stolen, only attained, and rightfully so. You who relies on the ability to take and utilize the magic of others, believing that to be the key to strength —just looking at you makes me sick." "You act like I'm not aware of my own weaknesses," said Pluto. "The first two strikes were just tests. I wanted to see if pure force would be enough to defeat you. Usually for me, it is. The next one was to test how prepared you are to counter my blows. You see, my true power doesn't come from copying the abilities of my subordinates. It comes from unifying them." Four black masses came off of Pluto's body, and another disceetly collapsed into shadows. Although black at first, they were wrapped in new shadows, turning them a combination of red and black. A combination of Pluto's Furies, and Asclepius' Eclipse Ribbons. The ribbons increased their power, allowing for better defense and attack. With unprecedented speed, two ran at either side of Silvius, one preparing a low kick, and the other a high one. Silmutaneously, a third Fury attempted to strike him from behind, while a fourth, above. The fifth and final Fury had moved from shadow to shadow, undetected, until it had moved into Silvius. It prepared to strike him from below, using an open palm to impale him with, and waiting for the other Furies to commence their attacks. After his first move, the hidden Fury would attempt to strike, whether it be towards him (if he was somehow sensed), or towards the other Furies. There was only so much a person could have done with clones; this wasn't the first time Silvius had seen them be employed into battle, and it most certainly wasn't going to be the last. With the wind sailing about him, Silvius was poised to fend against the forthcoming onslaught, bringing to his ears every fragment of sound, to his body every flutter and vibration caused by the movements of Pluto and his shadows; for a Dragon Slayer, an attack hidden from sight was but of course not entirely out of mind. "Is that right? So now, is this another one of your 'tests'? Or are you merely hiding from me?" As he had done previously beneath the guise of the earthen cocoon, Silvius' body gave off another projection of freezing blue aura, this time from the soles of his feet. What came upon happening was a frozen battlefield, the ground turning quickly to an ice ring. Unfortunately for Pluto and his shadows, they had forgotten their skates. What was once a war was now a slip 'n slide. The shadows coming from each direction were thrown off course; unable to maintain balance, they fell prey to one another as Silvius danced about, using his experience in the given setting to his advantage. With one swift motion, he evaded each of the four attacks, leading one shadow to defeat the other. Another shadow revealed itself as the others around Silvius dispersed, rather foolishly, to have taken to the skies; swooping down upon him it was, having trespassed into the domain of the Sky Dragon God. With a roar of the wind was the shadow erased, with the sudden breeze did it perish into complete nothingness. Watching as more of his ice spread out over the field, Silvius' hands found their way into his trouser pockets. Not only would the white of the sleeted street act as a counter to the black of Pluto's shadows by making them more easily identifiable, but the ground itself being frozen would have negated Pluto from making use of his earth magic altogether. "The way this frost lingers about the ground, it makes your shadows that much more visible to me. Attempting to hide one the way you did before was clever, I'll give you that much; however, you seem to have underestimated the sensing capabilities of a dragon. Mine in particular happen to be quite top notch." He smiled a smug grin, playing at Pluto's nerves. Arrogant or not, Silvius could have cared less about any of his remarks at this point; all that really mattered now was winning the battle. If his words would aid him in garnering a quicker victory by pushing Pluto's buttons, then so be it. "So far I've only seen you block and dodge Alvar," said Pluto. "Come on, show me that Dragon Slayer power of yours. If you haven't noticed, I still haven't moved from this spot." Pluto had guessed that Silvius was trying to gather the extent of his abilities, and as such, knew it would be wise to get him on the offensive. If he attacked soon, then Pluto would still have some tricks up his sleeves to use against Silvius. He hadn't revealed all of his spells just yet. Secretly, he began filling the air with miniscule flecks of iron sand, courtesy of Asclepius' magic, too far between to be easily visible, but close enough to be able to deal immediate detrimental effects. They gave off a small, metallic smell, undetectable to most noses, but could be easily smelled by Dragon Slayers, even if Silvius couldn't identify what it was. If Silvius tried to deeply inhale, the iron sand would enter his body, and lacerate his lungs. Pluto expected this to be a temporary measure at best, considering his freezing ability, but thought that if Silvius could manipulate the terrain, so could Pluto. He began to use Verve's Qui on his feet, causing them to glow a warm gold, and ensuring that he wouldn't slide around on the frozen ground as his magical energy hugged the ice, simultaneously creating a barrier between Pluto and the cold ground. Pluto's aura finally appeared, a deep shade of purple, giving off a sickly feeling that could repel the most vile creature. It was almost as if he was the grim reaper, coming to steal his soul. "Or are you simply too afraid to come near me?" "I won't succumb to your bait," Silvius assured him, catching traces of the iron within the atmosphere, "I am not so arrogant as to forfeit my advantage based upon the words of my enemy." The particles were but a minor issue that could have been dealt with later, there was no point in responding so immediately to their presence. The amount of magic Pluto suddenly had at his disposal was incredibly vast, there was no mistaking it; still, with his eyes alone Silvius could deduce counter measures. In fact, Pluto had backed himself into quite the corner already. The Underworld King had essentially glued himself down to the ice to compensate for the slipping of his earlier shadows, so as to ensure that the same did not happen to him. However, in doing so, he had slowed down his own movements, for it meant by "hugging" the ice, not only would he have to release the grasp of the hug each time he made to move, but also reestablish it in order to maintain balance. Such a complex mechanism had a flaring weak spot that was calling to Silvius. The structure of Silvius' ice constructs was never absolute; they could be altered at any given instance, courtesy to the degree of skill he possessed in its artistry. Without so much as a gesture with his hands, Silvius ordered the ice all around Pluto to jut up like spikes, taking the form of sharpened ice glaciers so very refined in their tip, meaning even the slightest touch would have allowed for them to pierce through him. The beauty of such an attack was that Pluto had elected to remain on the ground, his feet in contact with the ice; even with the presence of this so-called "Qui", the ice would have begun to overtake his body, stemming initially from his feet, upward to his ankles, calves and thighs, locking him in position even more so than his magic would have allowed for. Due to the nature of the attack, in which there was not another spell being weaved, but rather, one from earlier was being fondled, this quantified the sheer speed at which it would have been executed, leaving Silvius' opponent with surely very little time to counter with a spell of his own. Sharpened ice glaciers sprouted from every which way from all around Pluto, piercing at the immortal's body from every angle. Should he be unable to counter, there was little doubt he would be experiencing great pain; however, it may have finally been revealed to Silvius that Pluto was immortal, and that such wounds would not have been capable of killing him. Upon the very first spike piercing his body, only through the very bottom of his boot, Pluto was aware of Silvius' next move. Before being skewered by Silvius' assault, his body transformed, black as night, and the icicles simply phased through his body. With each new spike, more and more of his body turned into unadulterated, complete darkness. As more and more icicles appeared his body became just a black mist, with nothing that looked like a physical body at all. Some would assume he had been ripped to shreds, so utterly that he had become just a mist floating through the cold air. Others would assume he never had a physical body to begin with. But those with even the most minute sensory capabilities could still sense the putrid magic coming from Pluto. It began to move, reconstituting itself in front of the jagged ice spikes, slightly floating in the air, just above the ice. At first it was still just a mist, then it formed a body, and finally that body regained color, revealing Pluto, nearly unharmed, with blood trickling from his foot. "Congratulations Mr. Alvar," he said. "You got me to move. And you even nicked me. I guess I should return the favor." His body glowed blue, as his hair turned white, and skin grew dark. Horns grew out of his head, and his boots were kicked off in favor of goat hooves. His muscles increased exponentially in size, yet he suffered from no loss in speed. "Kishin and Satyr Soul." Pluto pointed his horns towards Silvius, as if he was planning to ram them into his gut. "Hastam Omnipotens." In the blink of an eye, Pluto had changed into a state that made him like a spear, a spear that could pierce through near any substance, and moved with such speed and sharpness that he could only be slowed, not stopped. Pluto would admit that his own version of the Kishin Soul was not as sharp as Julius', but he compensated for this with Krius' Satyr Soul. He moved, aiming to rip straight through Silvius' torso. It seemed this Pluto was no pushover after all. Only those who possessed complete mastery over a particular element could take upon its exact principles, to the point of becoming that very element themselves. If such was the case with Pluto, then it meant long range attacks weren't going to be the most viable of options; no, Silvius was going to need to time his next attacks perfectly so as to catch Pluto within the frame of time when his body was in a solidified state; only then would he be capable of dealing any damage to him. He saw his chance come about much sooner than he would have expected. Calling upon not one, but two powers through the use of Take Over, Pluto had transformed himself into quite the physical specimen. It was the first time Silvius had seen anything like it; uniting the features of two mythical beasts in the hopes of achieving greater power. It was most definitely a risky maneuver, to say the least —while hopes of it being a benefit were clearly visible, there was a high potential of it carrying an adverse effect. Would Pluto be destroyed by his own power? No matter the speed of his opponent, the fact that the atmosphere remained his domain gave Silvius all the confidence he needed. Adjustments would be made swiftly; he readied himself, feet planted shoulder width apart from one another, hands out before his body as shields. His ears twitched, absorbing the sound of Pluto cutting through the air; his nose quivered, intaking the aroma of death shrieking from his incoming opponent; and most of all, his body shivered, not from fear, but from the anticipation provided by the vibrations that the wind had brought to him. Gritting his teeth, he caught Pluto by the horns, stains of blood spilling from his bare hands; while Pluto's form was much more like a spear in his state of attack, Silvius' timing had allowed for him to retract his opponent in his physical "humanoid" form, for in essence it had still been there, masked by the sheer speed of which had been displayed by his opponent. They missed their mark by several inches, failing to make contact with their initial target; however yet, the force of the impact was still there, grinding Silvius backward through his own ice, taking Pluto along for the ride. Streaks of smoke and charred fragments of ice ripped apart the ground as Silvius wrestled for a proper foothold. In any case, however, his hands had accomplished a firm grasp of Pluto's horns, and they would play the roles of the instigator in Silvius' next phase of attack. Speed was a miraculous wonder, yet at times it was overdone. In his current state, Pluto was unable to control himself, unable to convert his body into the darkness from before. This was Silvius' greatest opportunity; his body supplying the power, his hands harnessed a freezing aura unlike any other, plummeting the surrounding temperatures to subzero levels. Stemming from his horns, Pluto's body would have been converted into an ice sculpture, and in the midst of the scuffle, there was unfortunately very little, if anything at all, he could do to stop it. Once converted, Pluto's body would shatter away into several hundreds and thousands of pieces of sparkled ice dust, only to be carried away and silenced for the rest of eternity by the wind. As his body began to wither away, Silvius found himself returning to a stationary pose, a thin blot of blood lining one side of his lip. Pluto, had not expected Silvius to try and take the attack head on, dodge it, maybe, but in that event, the sheer speed would cause him to go several meters past Silvius, allowing for him to plan another move. As Silvius caught Pluto, and his body transformed back into its normal state, Pluto knew that direct contact with this man for too long would be deadly. As Pluto began to be frozen, he gave out one last command with his Reanimation Magic, before his body was completely frozen. The battle had come to an end. Over the frozen canvas, Pluto's body looked as though it were a mere ice sculpture, a nifty ornament serving no purpose beyond decoration. So much as a slightest touch tipping it over now would have resulted in Pluto's demise, for he had been deduced to being more fragile than even glass. Leaving Pluto's fate in the hands of Tenrou Island, Silvius, his hands buried into his pockets, trailed off in the direction of the draconic scent from earlier before. A few hours later, Pluto's body thawed out. Despite the cold temperatures of the ice, it was still rather warm on Tenrou Island, and any ice melted after being outside of its freezing temperature. Pluto looked in the direction of the crashed airship, soaked in water from his previous experience. "They must have recovered Hades body. I should go join them." But before took even one step, he punched the ground, cracking it. Silvius Alvar had gotten Pluto to feel an emotion he hadn't felt in 400 years: rage. ---